DREAM BULLETIN, Vol 6, No 2, MAY 2019
EDITORIAL
Dear Dreamers,
Welcome to our Autumn edition of DNANZ Dream Bulletin, May 2019. Since our last bulletin we farewell Margaret Bowater in her role of Foundation President. The DNANZ was Margaret’s brain-child and would not have existed without her years of experience and immense knowledge and expertise. We thank Margaret for her magnificent and scholarly contribution to the study of dreamwork in Aotearoa.
Not only do we have a new president but there have been a number of changes on the Exec team:
We welcome Louise Belcher into the new leadership role. She will not be alone, as Margaret Bowater has moved into the role of Secretary and will be on hand with needed information. Jeni McGarry is now Vice-President, and Eric Bowater continues as Treasurer. Others re-elected are Bev Rosevear-Kaho, Margaret Thorne and Caroline Bensinger, while Marie Brand is a new member, bringing welcome expertise with technology! I have stepped off the Exec, but continue as Bulletin Editor, alongside Marg Toland. We are sorry to lose Tay-Marie Yorston, who has found the workload in her new employment very heavy. The Exec team are now in process of warming up towards the upcoming Dream Conference in October!
In this edition there are many interesting articles which we hope you will enjoy:
- Introduction of our new president, Louise Belcher.
- Margaret Toland reports on her moving presentation to the April DNANZ group on the influence of dreams in her spiritual and vocational direction.
- Sarah Lassally presents a transformational dream in which her dream ego is participating in a psychodrama workshop. The dream image of a window to a beautiful turquoise sea brings an after effect of calm and confidence.
- In Book Corner, Margaret Bowater reviews Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work with Them, by Stanley Krippner, Fariba Bogzaran and Andre Percia de Carvalho.
- I have included a summary of an article by Schubert and Punamaki who did a study of the influence of dreamwork with two traumatized refugee women.
- Finally, we advertise the 2019 Dream Conference and information regarding process for newcomers to join our dream network.
Lynette Papp (Editor)
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Introducing our new President, Louise Belcher
At the AGM on 10th June, 2019, Louise Belcher was e lected President of the Dream Network. She has been a quietly effective member of our Exec for over a year, while recovering from tragedy in her family. She recently resigned from many years in her double role as Manager of two large Family Service Centres in Papakura, where she used her multiple trainings in Counselling, Family Therapy, Supervision, Mediation, Parent Education and Industrial Relations. As Chairperson of several community Trusts, she is also experienced in governance, with strong values in supporting community education among diverse cultures. Though relatively new to the practice of dreamwork, she has always felt guided by powerful dreams in her own experience.
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The DREAM NETWORK AOTEAROA-NZ
invites registrations for our 3RD CONFERENCE!
on 4th- 6th October, 2019, 
Fri 3.30 pm to Sun 3.00 pm,
at St Francis Retreat Centre,
50 Hillsborough Rd, Auckland,
a place of peace in beautiful grounds:
Theme: DREAMS OF INSPIRATION, CREATIVITY, GUIDANCE
How often have dreams, visions or nightmares led you to change direction or priority in your life? How many leaders in human history have reported the powerful impact of a dream or vision guiding them to take action? In how many fields of human endeavour have dreams made a difference?
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 A dozen experienced presenters, including:
Clare Caldwell, BFA, Visionary Artist, on VISIONS for the EARTH – OPTIONS for the FUTURE, illustrated by her vivid paintings.
Margaret Bowater,MA, TSTA, Past President of DNANZ, 
On DREAMS THAT HAVE CHANGED OUR HISTORY.
- Seminars, workshops, panels, meditations, small groups; PLAYBACK THEATRE PERFORMANCE on Sat evening included!
Register now!
Earlybird Fees if paid by 31st July: into Westpac DNANZ acct: 03-0166-002 0001-00, referencing your name. Please promptly notify Margaret Bowater that you’ve paid, on email mandebowater@gmail.com, stating your name, sum paid, phone number and postal address.
Vegetarian meals are provided, but not special diets (if so, bring own bread, etc.) All single rooms, linen provided, shared shower and toilet facilities, adequate parking.
- Full weekend with accommodation and all meals $370.00; or later fee $395.00.
- Full attendance with meals, but living out, $340.00, or later fee $365.
- One-day fee, Sat 9am-9pm, 2 meals included, $200.00, or later $225.00.
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Report from April DNANZ Open Meeting 
CARE OF THE SOUL - IN TRANSITION:
INTUITIVE LISTENING TO GOD’S LOVE AND DIRECTION THROUGH DREAMS.
At the open meeting on Friday 12th of April I shared a series of drawings from dreams which occurred between 1992 – 1995.
In 1995 I had spent 32 years in religious, apostolic and community life as a missionary. During these years I worked in health care as a nurse and midwife. I enjoyed my work and understood this to be part of my call. From childhood I had developed awareness of God in nature and over years this developed deeper into a love of scripture and prayer. Eventually, years of experience and intuition gave me a new awareness. There was more to healing than that received through conventional care in medicine and nursing. This increased my curiosity about healing through energy and touch.
In community life, I began to feel like a cog in a machine. At times when requests were made, the decision from leadership took precedence. Moreover, moving back and forth, fitting in from place to place was unsettling. While on retreat in 1988, celebrating 25 years of religious life, I saw a path in front of me through a forest and way ahead the path turned a corner.
The following dreams helped strengthen my discernment:
June 1994 Thief in the Night. I’m asleep in the living room where I am living. I wake up and know that a thief has been in the room. Everything has been stolen and the walls are stripped bare. Then I see a rod. Over it is draped a piece of royal blue velvet material (the material of a pall, a cloak used as a drape over a coffin). Both symbols together symbolize the shepherd caring for His sheep. The front door is wide open, and the handle has been ripped out and lying outside on the path in front of the house. The message for me is about death and life and to be a part of life I need to move forward through the open door and handle life outside the place where I have been living.
 October 1994 The Tree of Life. In 1974 I had requested leave of absence which I then withdrew knowing I needed to trust my calling. The following dream has my dream ego in a forest on a path. I see a tree the roots of which are above ground. They are symbolic of regulations, obedience to authority, its power obstructing the flow of the journey. Their presence above the ground speaks of the surface place of life. Nourishment and stability are rooted in the depths. The presence of elephants there is a reminder of Isaiah 49:15. One morning while reading, these words entered as if receiving communion and spread their warmth within me. “Even if these forget, I will never forget you.”
 Scene 2 This massive tree is in the Centre of the forest, It’s roots are deep, the top I cannot see. This is symbolic of the Tree of Life. Genesis 2: 9 The Mouth, where the breath of God issues forth, is alive and active in the Word of God, Christ Jesus. John 1:1
In the dream not shown here, the bottom lip moves forward and embraces me around my shoulders. This dream is about relationship, love, care and guidance and direction on my path of life.
February 1995 Termination of a Contract Paper. The last scene in this dream is very clear. A farmer (this dream character represents an event when I was 12years) with an apron on (service) sits at a table. In front of him is a termination of contract paper and there’s a ruler on top; as I put my finger on the ruler 32 appears. May 19 th I awoke remembering “today I’m 32 years professed”. I immediately recalled my dream in February.
These dreams were so profound I sought help during the ongoing months to work through and process my dreams and events in my waking life. In December 1995 I made the decision to move forward, leaving the Order.
Margaret Toland
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DREAM REPORT Sarah Lassally April 11th 2019
“I am at a psychodrama workshop. The two male facilitators are being aggressive and rude. Another woman and I are trying to figure out what they want us to do. Their attitude is disturbing but we are in this class and we need a find a way to manage it. I look out the window and see the sea and a beach. The sea is an amazing turquoise colour. I say, “The best thing about this room is the view.” I tell the woman that we can go to the beach in our break.
I’m then walking at the cliff edge near the beach and there is a ladder there. I step on it and it swings down like a seesaw and I get off on the beach. I sit there, and to my left, and in front there are tidal waves coming towards me. I laugh and think about how I will get drenched.”
 This dream was wonderful to recall. I frequently dream of tidal waves and they are usually about strong feelings that I am afraid of being overwhelmed by. Here I am laughing; I’m not afraid anymore. I’m delighted in a carefree child-like way, thinking getting drenched will be fun because I have no worries in this moment. Swimming, especially in the sea, is a self- soothing activity for me. Maybe this is the reason my dream ego focuses on swimming as a way of coping with the discomfort in the workshop.
In life, my greatest burden has been anxiety. Previously, my drug use was largely around alleviating this stress as I had no means to self - soothe when I was young. The two male facilitators behaving unkindly towards us in the dream may represent my struggle with men However, in the dream, I am managing it. I believe this dream portends how psychodrama can help me face the emotions I had been running from and how psychodrama will set me free from my burden of crippling anxiety. I think the line about the best aspect of the room being the view, speaks of how our attitude to our life is paramount in coping. As in the much- touted saying 'it's not what happens to us, but our attitude to it, is what matters.'
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 BOOK CORNER Review by Margaret Bowater
A useful book for anyone working in the field of counselling is Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work with Them, by Stanley Krippner, Fariba Bogzaran and Andre Percia de Carvalho, published in 2002 by the State University of New York Press. Prof Stanley Krippner is one of the founding fathers of modern dream studies, including research in precognition, and leadership in the American Psychological Assn; the other two are also leaders in tertiary dream study programmes.
The first chapter sets out the wide range of “extraordinary” dream types they will discuss; and the second gives a very useful summary of the major western theories from Freud to the present day, including the impact of neuroscience. The range includes lucidity, healing, telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, past-life dreams, spirituality and visitations. I found their calm normalisation of the extreme variety of dreaming very reassuring!
Each chapter gives a definition, a historical summary, practical examples, a process for working, and selected exercises for practice. Much practical wisdom is incorporated in the descriptions of dreamwork, along with useful discussions where theories conflict.
Your best hope of obtaining this book is probably second-hand through an online book-shop such as Amazon.
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RESEARCH CORNER - Lyn Papp
POSTTRAUMATIC NIGHTMARES OF TRAUMATIZED REFUGEES
Carla C. Schubert and Raija-Leena Punamaki in Dreaming Quarterly: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Volume 21, Number 1.
Schubert and Punamaki’s study relates to work on posttraumatic nightmares with two refugee women, (one from West Africa (Luisa) and the other from the Middle East (Shirin). Both had suffered PTSD and repetitive nightmares. The focus is on the mental health function of dreams and dreamwork in integrative psychotherapy. Interestingly, despite the significance of dreamwork as source of healing, Schubert and Punamaki draw attention to the fact that there is little research available on dreams as a therapeutic tool with traumatized refugees.
The article is worth reading on many levels:
- It is relevant to us due to the recent Mosque attacks on the Muslim Christchurch community.
- Researchers draw attention to the lack of research available in this field.
- Interesting content including information from many other eminent researchers such as Hartmann (1984), and Gendlin (1986). For example, a study by Belville, Guay and Marchand (2011) points out nightmares are a typical feature of PTSD and present as enduring problems even after successful PTSD-treatment. However, they say that dreams provide a source for healing in many cultures and settings. Others such as Schubert and Punamaki found that nightmares continue in some clients for years after the trauma, and impact on their sleep, cause daytime stress and result in impaired functioning. It seems that the attempt to suppress unwanted thoughts before sleep may even lead to increased appearance of them in disturbing dreams.
- Importance of practitioners’ knowledge of cultural beliefs and practices related to dreams for the various refugee clients. Dreams and nightmares after trauma can then be processed and interpreted through the filter of cultural traditions. Researchers caution that at times traditional belief systems can contribute to psychological distress and further complicate aspects of the stress.
- Detailed dream reports from the participants are included as well as reference to the length of time participants were engaged in therapy. Therapy with the refugee women was extremely long-term as, until session 43, Shirin would not speak of her torture. One of her nightmares included a dead uncle coming and taking her by the hand. This would have been a sign in her culture of Shirin’s impending death. The therapist suggested the possibility of another personal meaning, beyond the cultural. Another nightmare of a similar nature provided a key that unlocked the shame of having survived and fled her country whilst other family members were left behind.
- Other issues such as survivor guilt and shame arise. The second woman, Luisa, also experienced meeting dead people in her nightmares. Therapeutic dreamwork uncovered the fact that she felt guilty she had not arranged a traditional funeral ceremony after her relatives died. The therapist suggested asking a friend to conduct the ritual together. Following up on this suggestion resulted in the end of the nightmares. In both cases dreamwork with refugee women resulted in less frightening dream material emerging and healing.
In the aftermath of the Christchurch Mosque attacks, given the efficacy of dreamwork with nightmares, importance of dreams in many cultural contexts and lack of research available in this area, it seems this is an area worthy of further research in the New Zealand context.
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Invitation to Membership of the Dream Network Margaret Bowater
 As our movement continues to grow, so do our costs of maintaining the website, publishing the quarterly Dream Bulletin and advertising our events. We are happy to provide this free online quarterly service to all interested; but if you enjoy reading the Bulletin you might like to support us by becoming a regular Member, paying a voluntary subscription of $20 a year, due from 1st April. This would entitle you to receive a Certificate of Membership; and if you wish, to be listed on our website, under a given region, as interested in dream-sharing groups. (Elected Members serving on the Exec need not pay.)
We also have a category of Professional Members, who are defined as “sufficiently qualified and experienced in the practice of dreamwork” (as recognised by the Membership Subcommittee), “and may advertise themselves as such on our website, with a profile and photo, on payment of an additional fee,” which was set at a total of $50.00.
In practice, we have set the entry level for Professional Members as completion of Margaret Bowater’s Certificate in Applied Dreamwork (100 hours,) or equivalent in other professional training. Currently, only 4 people are advertising their profiles on the Website.
If you would like to become a regular Member of DNANZ for 2019, please pay $20 into Westpac Bank’s DNANZ account, 03-0166-002 0001-00, referencing your name; and promptly send an email to mandebowater@gmail.com to state you have done so, requesting a Certificate of Membership.
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